18.01.2007

Mombassa in sights of Cross Country hopefuls

A Kenyan passport stamp is up for grabs as some of Australia's best middle to long distance athletes vie for a spot on the Australian team for the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

 

The distance contingent will be heading to Canberra this Saturday (20 January 2007) to compete in the Australian team selection trials to be held at Weston Park. The 35th IAAF World Cross Country Championships will be held in the coastal Kenyan city of Mombassa on 24 March 2007.

 

Lee Troop and Anna Thompson have already been granted automatic selection following their wins at the 2006 Telstra Australian Cross Country Championships in Hobart.

 

27-year-old Martin Dent leads the men’s start list, no stranger to competing on the world stage having competed in three world cross country championships, the Commonwealth Games and the IAAF world 20km championships. Dent was the highest placed Australian in the long course event last year finishing in 45^th position.

 

Victorian Shane Nankervis, a member of the Nic Bideau stable, will be stepping back to the shorter distance, having finished seventh in the marathon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Nankervis finished in 92^nd position (long course) at the world cross country championships in 2004.

 

New South Welshman Russell Dessaix-Chin (2006 – 112^th) and Victoria’s David Ruschena (2006 – 121^st) will be battling for re-selection, whilst established distance runner Michael Shelley, who crossed the line in third place in Hobart at the 2006 Telstra Australian Cross Country Championships, will be hoping to stamp his authority in the nation’s capital.

 

Pat Clohessy-coached Queenslander Peter Nowill, who finished sixth in the 3000m steeplechase at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, will be endeavouring to secure a place on his second world cross country team.

 

27-year-old Mark Tucker along with young guns Dave McNeil, Liam Adams and 2006 Burnie Ten winner Collis Birmingham will also be hoping to take the next step up.

 

After their sensational team performance last year at the world championships in Fukuoka, where they collected an historic team bronze, the women’s field have a lot to live up too.

 

Victoria Mitchell (34^th - long race), Emma Rilen (54^th – long race) and Donna McFarlane (29^th – short course) will all be putting their hands up for re-selection to compete in the distance running Mecca.

 

Commonwealth Games marathon runners Lauren Shelley and Kate Smyth will be biting at the bit to represent the green and gold again.

 

28-year-old Victorian Lisa-Jane Weightman and young Irish dancer-turned-runner Clare Geraghty from Queensland who finished third and sixth respectively in Hobart last year, are set to make an impact on the 2km loop course, along with ‘veteran’ Lisa Dick and rising Canberra star Emily Brichacek.

 

The future stars of distance running in Australia are hitting their straps, many having completed a successful Australian All Schools campaign last December. The opportunity to compete in the under 20 section in Kenya would be an invaluable learning experience for the next generation.

 

The Weston Park course consists of a 2km loop with the open men and junior men running 4 laps (8km) and open women and junior women running 3 laps (6km).

 

The first and second place getters in the open men’s and open women’s, and first place getters in the junior men and women’s selection trail races will be automatically selected for the Australian team to compete in Mombassa, providing they meet the qualifying standard stated in the Selection Policy. The remaining positions on the Australian team will be up to the selector’s discretion.

Unlike previous years at the IAAF World Cross Country, there will be no short courses for the open men and women. The race distances to be contested at the IAAF World Cross Country are 12km for open men, 8km for open women, 8km for junior men and 6km for junior women. Further details can be found at http://www.iaaf.org/WXC07/index.html.

 

Schedule: Saturday, 20 January 2007

 

9:00am  U20 Women 6k
9:20am  Open Women 6k
9:40am  U20 Men 8k
10:10am Open Men 8k